Why Uganda?

Our road to Uganda


How can we explain in a short blog what God has been working in us over the past several years? It’s hard to put the stirring in our heart into words, but I'll try.

Three years ago, we were a very different family than we are today. Heather’s body was reeling from the birth of our last child, Jeremiah. Her doctors had no idea what was causing her physical and emotional problems and put her on just about every anti-depressent available. Those were really difficult days. Often times, she would call me at work to pick up the kids at school or simply come home to watch them as she couldn’t so much as get out of bed. There were times when I felt like a single parent. Carrying the load of cooking, cleaning, and looking after the kids was exhausting and consumed most all of my time and energy. During this time, we entered a sort of survival mode, and boiled our lives down to the bare necessities to get through each day.

At the beginning of 2006, I had the opportunity to go to work for 4 months in Singapore. In spite of Heather’s health problems, she was willing to attempt this move. As we were there, we began to see God working in her heart in a fresh way and she began to see some improvements in her body as well. Although it seemed unlikely at the time, in the back of my mind, I hoped that this trip was the beginning of a preparation time for something bigger.

After we returned from Singapore, we immediately began planning our next work-related trip, to Ireland for 8 months. At that same time, we also began planning our first trip to Uganda, Africa with Show Mercy (http://www.showmercy.org/ ). Since we would be in Europe, it would make it possible (due to the cheaper air fare) to bring the entire family to experience Africa. All during this time, Heather’s health was continually improving and we could see the goodness of God bringing more and more healing into her life.




During our trip in June 2007 to Africa, we absolutely fell in love with the people of Uganda. I have to say, it was a huge step out of my comfort zone and I was uneasy bringing the family there. Although I knew it would be a great experience, there were just lots of unknowns. It did turn out to be a wonderful experience. Almost a year passed before Heather returned to Uganda again (in June 2008). God really stirred Heather during this trip. She found new confidence as she ministered to prisioners, visited the children's hospital cancer ward, preached on a Ugandan radio program, and developed deeper relationships with the kids at Hope Children's Home.




Soon after this, God began to stir me about truly laying down all that I had for Him and for His desire for my life. Honestly, this was the farthest thing from my mind only a few months earlier. Over the course of the next few months, He drew me to the point where I truly believed it was time to take some concrete steps. Both Heather and I knew that our connection with Uganda went beyond the short trips we had made so far. In our 13 years of marriage, there were few things that we agreed on as strongly as what God was calling us to in Uganda. So, in December, Heather and I put in our application for a long term mission with Show Mercy. In January, Show Mercy gave us the official "go ahead" and I returned to Uganda later that month for a 2 week trip.



After I returned from Uganda, we spent a month preparing our house for sale. Less than a month after placing the house on the market, we accepted an offer. We're scheduled to close on May 14th!

So what will we be doing there, anyway?

So, you may wonder, what do we see ourselves doing there? Well, our primary mission will be to minister to the kids at Hope, the kids and people in the surrounding villages, and provide logistical assistance to the leadership at Hope Children's Home (and school). Our ministering will take many different forms, but our overall goal is to bring affirmation, mentoring, and love to these people in practical ways. In addition, Heather and I want to use this trip as an opportunity to bring you (whoever is reading this!) along for the ride. We want you to see first hand what God is doing in Uganda through our words, pictures, videos, and any other way we can think of to make this experience real for you. I have to be honest, I've never been stirred to action by watching shows or advertisements on TV about the starving kids in Africa. It wasn't until I went there, met the kids face to face, saw their circumstances first hand, and realized that they are no different than my own children, that my heart fell in love with them. My hope and prayer is that you will be stirred, too, when you hear their stories, see their faces, and hear their voices.

How Can I Get Involved?

You may be asking yourself, how can I get involved? Well, there are several ways. First of all, you can pray! We have a long road ahead of us and we're trusting God to pave the way. Lots of things need to fall into place over the next 4 months. Second, you can support us financially. Don't worry, we'll never hound you for money! However, we do have a great deal of expenses ahead of us (both monthly living expenses in Uganda and one time startup expenses, like airfare), so every little bit helps. Just go to: http://www.showmercy.org/get_involved/long-term-missions/ You can give a one-time donation or, if you'd like to give a monthly donation, please enter "monthly support for the Stirns" in the comment field.

Third, you can sponsor a child! I'll go into more detail on this in my next blog. You can go to http://www.showmercy.org/ to learn more. Show Mercy is a registered non-profit, so any donations are tax deductible.